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osie

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Posts posted by osie

  1. commission based is the way to... at the end of the day you want to fill a room and that is worth paying for.  You dont want to pay for something that may not get you a penny.  We are with holiday lettings now it is commission based, whereas a few years ago I paid over 200 quid for nothing.   We are with Alistar Sawdays but have stopped all other pay upfront methods.  There are lots of b&b's round here going the booking.com route which I would recommend to everybody.

    I have recently implemented automated software that sends an email on the day the client arrives, a questionnaire when they leave and to ask for facebook likes.  And probably a xmas card in December.  This is free advertising and an additional service at no extra cost.  It can be fully automated by anyone but you would need a reservation system connected to a web mysql and a good knowledge of sql...  Or just install PHPlist and semi automate it using cut/paste. 

    Lots of good photos and a good website with SEO in mind is also free.

    Leaving contact cards in the local shops is also free.

  2. I like my zodiac as I can leave it in the pool and it does the job for free... The electric is great but it is painstaking taking it in and out all the time.  I use the electric(it has a manual option too) once in a while to do a good job and I use it permanently in the summer.

    For the corner bits, I just brush them to the middle to give the zodiac a bit of a hand.

    You can also take a few of the tubes off.. that would reduce the bend and maybe lessen the force.  Or maybe put one of the weights near to the sucker to try to keep it down.

    Also, I have mine connected in the middle of the pool to the aspirator hole, rather than the skimmer... That might help too.

  3. I have noticed that 2013 has so far been a year of austerity.  People are not willing to pay for luxury, they would rather the basic. 

    We are having a great year so far but this is due to reducing the prices.  So turnover rather than profit.

    I may be wrong but I have noticed in our area that the hotels are reducing their prices to B&B prices.  This will inevitable take some of the custom of the b&b's.

    If it was me and I had poor bookings then I would try to offer more for less.  Try to get the wheel turning again.

    Offer organic breakfasts, homemade jam, chutneys... bbq evenings etc... what ever works. and get the message out there with cheap/free advertising.

  4. Mine goes in all directions and it does not tip over and if for any reason it is upside down it sorts itself out with the ring.

    The leaf collector can be sorted by purging it of air before putting it in the water.  There are also some white plastic weights that you can clip on near to it to help it remain submerged.

    btw: I have removed the leaf collector as 1) it broke :-( but also because I dont have leaves at the moment any way.

  5. I would suggest buying only 90x200 beds and buying the outofeaden matress joiner... mentioned earlier on this site.

    You can then market with all configurations and set it up accordingly.

    I looked everywhere for a similar mattress joiner and only outofeaden do them and they deliver to France although pick up in UK would be for free.

    Also, the beds I would suggest hunting the internet for a good bargain..

  6. I am also in the Lot and the reception receives all the channels.

    I never bothered to link my humax up to the internet as I have no need to do so.  All the go backward/record stuff does not need it.

    It does all the things it is meant without the need for internet and has a hard drive to hold ample films.  Never needed to look into copying to PC.

    I did end up adding another LNB which took no time at all although I was still happy without it and more happy now.

  7. Okay.. if you mention gestimate figures on a forum you are going to get torn apart...

    But.. anyway here goes...

    As a very very rough estimate I would imagine that you could get about 5% of your property price back on profit each year...

    For 50k you would need a property price of 1M

    That means if 2 persons work hard then each year their net income could be 25k each if they had an initial investment of 1M.

    So I guess that I am saying, if you have a 1M property in mind and are prepared to work then go for it...

  8. I would say it is all about lifestyle...

    If you want (are willing to pay for) a lifestyle change that will allow you a minimum wage for a considerable amount of work then yes.

    You need to consider the initial downpayment, restriction on lifestyle, returns versus work effort.

    What is the yeild if you were to keep that money in the bank, what are the returns after the mortgage repayments, can you make back the 8% (or so) purchase costs for a property, selling costs and wait, have you calculated the real running costs (heating, phone, internet, insurance, electricity, advertising, marketing).

    If you are reliant on the income then I would probably not do it... as there is too much risk, but, if you 'need' a lifestyle change then I would do it immediately.

    I am glad for the decision that I made but I never had any clue about what was in store.

    One last point is that you need to be mentally and physically fit as it is not easy and you probably wont be paying for a worker.

  9. Jarret is a really nice cut and would work really well.  The ones with the bone is much cheaper and will add flavour and marrowbone.

    Not sure if French entrecote would work too well in a beef wellington .. i've done it with british rump.

    Pot au feu is quite fatty but nothing wrong with a bit to add flavour.

    I keep meaning to buy ox tail... will do very soon before winter is over.

    red wine, Leeks, rosmerry, carrotts come to mind... yummy

  10. I find that doing online shopping is like dealing with the devil... You can rely on his help but if you turn your back you will get screwed.

    My favorites to mind are cdiscount and vistaprint.

    I just got some amazing deals but I am always wary that they are all in it to rip you off...

    I should mention that I really do like their tom and jerry antiks... but if you get stung you need to be able to take it too.

    My adivce is:-

    Never think you have got a good deal, just try not to get a bad deal.

    Be prepared to be screwed by getting an already good deal in the first place.

    Know your enemy using google.

    When you are happy with your deal, dont go for the attempts to add to your basket.

    Dont rely on the bonus you are getting with your life as you might not get it.

    Dont buy something you dont need.

    At the end of the day it is only a game and there are winners and losers.

  11. You got me worried but luckily I had the DU bit right.... pfew

    My French is such that I slur any du's or de's a bit so no one is quite sure if I know what I am talking about or not.

    I kept saying 'plaT' de jour' for years before finally someone corrected me.

    I see it as all part of the fun and experience for the people that come here... nothing like some fun memories.

  12. Thanks everybody for all the help... I have made lots of corrections based on Normans suggestions.

    I have finally choosen Ericd's as I like it....

    Roquefort sur son lit de salade au vinaigre balsamique et a l'huile de noix

    My 1/2 French other half has advised me that a salade de roquefort is only made up of roquefort and so would be misleading...

    And she had never heard of 'Meli mélo' although I am sure I will start using it in my everyday chat.

    To be honest she was not too hot on the 'Roquefort sur son lit' but at the end of the day it is me who has got to make it

    Osie

  13. Hi All

    Salade de Roquefort avec vinaigre balsamique et à l’huile de noix

    Can you please help with this headache I have... I am getting some new menus printed and hoped to iron out a few grammatical errors.

    The problem seems to be with the 'de' and the 'avec'... which seems to be interchangable with de, avec, au, aux. 

    Would you let me know which is the more correct... I would just leave it out but it means I keep getting asked about the vinaigrette...

    It comes from this link but I am fairly sure the rest is fairly correct.

    http://www.le-murier.com/fr/restaurant.htm

    Thanks in advance

    Osie

  14. I have just changed from  Bouygues to 'B and You' even though they seem to be one and the same company.  I now have my old mobile phone with unlimited time credit all for a one off payment of 4.99euros and I get to keep my old number.  Before I was paying PAYG 30€ per quarter and losing about 20€ of credit after each charge.  So I am happy... So far all is working as expected, and it all happened it a couple of days.

    I should mention that the main reason for going this route as that I know Bouygues works here and others dont although I believe that free works too.

  15. I have just had a look at B and You (Bouygues telecom) and it looks almost too good to be true...

    There is a 4.99€ option where you can top up a minimum of 10€ and you never loose the money(Aucune durée de validité).

    I am with Bouygues and each topup has a credit limit between 1 week and 6 months but works for me but it is not ideal. 

    If the reseau quality for 'B and You' is the same as my Bouygues telecom then this is a no brainer...

  16. [quote user="AnOther"][quote user="osie"]I was told by a guy at devolo.fr that they have a box that makes the internet user responsible by tracking who and what is downloaded[/quote]Unless it's by making them register first with an instantly verifiable piece of ID, essentially a credit card then, I don't really see how that works.

    [/quote]

    Not sure... I recall it being a bit of hardware that the devolo guy said was 'obligatory' for about 600€.  As all person, would have already provided their details when booking a room  maybe it would be just a case of taking their room number.

    However, on further questioning it didnt sound like it would be worth the money for my little place.

  17. I believe that with orange hotspot anyone can pay but I have a feeling that it may be free for orange customers...

    For the effort it would take to explain this to everybody and get disgruntled non-orangers, I decided not to bothers.

    I bet you could have a logon page for anyone who logs into your router and this login page stores their ip address.... That maybe a fun techy challenge for the winter...

  18. I went down the orange pro route a few months ago with the idea to remove my responsibility of client downloads.

    It works by allowing you to be a hotspot, however, what I did not realise is that the person wanting to use the internet has to pay orange.  So, it is not like a free internet cafe, it is more like an airport lounge where you buy time.  The person wishing to use the internet goes to an orange.fr page and gives their credit card details to orange who in turn allow them to use your live box.... so nought for you.

    I have since turned it off as I believe a paying wifi service would be frowned upon by our clients.

    btw: I was told by a guy at devolo.fr that they have a box that makes the internet user responsible by tracking who and what is downloaded but it was several hundreds of euros and I did not choose that either.

    The conclusion was to trust that our clients use it appropriately.

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